Airbus Girl
14th Jun 2003, 16:36
From yesterday's Manchester Evening News:
Pilots' holiday strike threat
John Scheerhout
HOLIDAYMAKERS face a summer of flight chaos if more than 300 pilots at Manchester-based Air 2000 vote for industrial action.
Airline bosses at Manchester Airport were due to hold crunch talks with union officials today in a bid to head off a planned ballot over pay next week.
But Air 2000 has indicated it will not increase the pay offer on the table, thought to be 2.9 per cent.
Some of the firm's 366 pilots, who earn between £36,000 and £52,000 a year, have said they felt let down after forgoing a three-per cent pay rise to help the firm when it was struggling after September 11.
They have asked for 7.5 per cent to restore their wages to the levels they were before, with a willingness to negotiate. But the gap between the two sides remains so wide that many pilots believe the dispute may end in strike action.
Cancellations
It could mean delays or cancellations for holidaymakers who have booked their breaks through First Choice, which owns the airline.
Other tour operators that have chartered the airline could also be affected.
Air 2000 has also entered the budget flights market, offering one-way fares from Manchester to Alicante, Malaga and Faro from £29, and they could also be affected by a strike.
One pilot, who declined to be named, said: "There has always been a willingness by the pilots to help the company through difficult times, which we did when we did not take up the second part of a two-year pay deal worth around three per cent.
"We've worked hard and we feel like we've been kicked in the teeth. There's a very good chance it will go to industrial action. But what form that will take is yet to be decided. It may be a work to rule, or it may be a withdrawal of co-operation.
Impact
"On the other hand, it may well go to strike action. First Choice is one of the biggest tour operators in the country and a strike would have a massive impact on them."
John Murphy, Air 2000's director of flight operations, confirmed that the pilots' union, BALPA, had paved the way for a ballot on industrial action.
"There will be further negotiations today," he said. "I think there is a long way to go before there is a ballot and I don't believe there will be one - and I don't think there will be any action that will disrupt the passengers."
However, before Mr Murphy went into today's talks, he admitted the offer would "not necessarily" be increased.
First Choice has reported a massive increase in bookings since the end of the war in Iraq. It also revealed financial results this week showing that losses had shrunk by 11 per cent to £44.1 million last year.
Pilots' holiday strike threat
John Scheerhout
HOLIDAYMAKERS face a summer of flight chaos if more than 300 pilots at Manchester-based Air 2000 vote for industrial action.
Airline bosses at Manchester Airport were due to hold crunch talks with union officials today in a bid to head off a planned ballot over pay next week.
But Air 2000 has indicated it will not increase the pay offer on the table, thought to be 2.9 per cent.
Some of the firm's 366 pilots, who earn between £36,000 and £52,000 a year, have said they felt let down after forgoing a three-per cent pay rise to help the firm when it was struggling after September 11.
They have asked for 7.5 per cent to restore their wages to the levels they were before, with a willingness to negotiate. But the gap between the two sides remains so wide that many pilots believe the dispute may end in strike action.
Cancellations
It could mean delays or cancellations for holidaymakers who have booked their breaks through First Choice, which owns the airline.
Other tour operators that have chartered the airline could also be affected.
Air 2000 has also entered the budget flights market, offering one-way fares from Manchester to Alicante, Malaga and Faro from £29, and they could also be affected by a strike.
One pilot, who declined to be named, said: "There has always been a willingness by the pilots to help the company through difficult times, which we did when we did not take up the second part of a two-year pay deal worth around three per cent.
"We've worked hard and we feel like we've been kicked in the teeth. There's a very good chance it will go to industrial action. But what form that will take is yet to be decided. It may be a work to rule, or it may be a withdrawal of co-operation.
Impact
"On the other hand, it may well go to strike action. First Choice is one of the biggest tour operators in the country and a strike would have a massive impact on them."
John Murphy, Air 2000's director of flight operations, confirmed that the pilots' union, BALPA, had paved the way for a ballot on industrial action.
"There will be further negotiations today," he said. "I think there is a long way to go before there is a ballot and I don't believe there will be one - and I don't think there will be any action that will disrupt the passengers."
However, before Mr Murphy went into today's talks, he admitted the offer would "not necessarily" be increased.
First Choice has reported a massive increase in bookings since the end of the war in Iraq. It also revealed financial results this week showing that losses had shrunk by 11 per cent to £44.1 million last year.